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Armchair Travel December 2017
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Island of the Blue Foxes : Disaster and Triumph on the World's Greatest Scientific Expedition
by Stephen R. Bown
Canadian. The immense 18th-century scientific journey, variously known as the Second Kamchatka Expedition or the Great Northern Expedition, from St. Petersburg across Siberia to the coast of North America, involved over 3,000 people and cost Peter the Great over one-sixth of his empire's annual revenue. Until now recorded only in academic works, this 10-year venture, led by the legendary Danish captain Vitus Bering and including scientists, artists, mariners, soldiers, and laborers, discovered Alaska, opened the Pacific fur trade, and led to fame, shipwreck, and "one of the most tragic and ghastly trials of suffering in the annals of maritime and arctic history."
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| Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York by Roz ChastIf you love Manhattan or just want to get to know it better, try the latest book by New Yorker cartoonist and bestselling author Roz Chast. Readers will find a quirky, fun illustrated tribute to the Big Apple that discusses everything from empty subway cars (avoid them) to the grid pattern that makes up most of the island. Written to help her suburban daughter, who was moving to Manhattan for college, Going into Town is a lighthearted, informative look at Chast's favorite city. |
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A Hole in the Wind : A Climate Scientist's Bicycle Journey Across the United States
by David Goodrich
After a distinguished career in climate science as the Director of the UN Global Climate Observing System in Geneva, David Goodrich returned home to the United States to find a nation and a people in denial. Concerned that the American people are willfully deluded by the misinformation about climate that dominates media and politics, David thought a little straight talk could set things right. As they say in Animal House, he decided that "this calls for a stupid and futile gesture on someone's part, and I'm just the guy to do it."Starting on the beach in Delaware, David rode his bike 4,200 miles to Oregon, talking with the people he met on the ultimate road trip. Along the way he learned a great deal about why climate is a complicated issue for many Americans and even more about the country we all share.Climate change is the central environmental issue of our time.
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The Future of Humanity : Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth
by Michio Kaku
Human civilization is on the verge of spreading beyond Earth. More than a possibility, it is becoming a necessity: whether our hand is forced by climate change and resource depletion or whether future catastrophes compel us to abandon Earth, one day we will make our homes among the stars. World-renowned physicist and futurist Michio Kaku explores in rich, accessible detail how humanity might gradually develop a sustainable civilization in outer space. With his trademark storytelling verve, Kaku shows us how science fiction is becoming reality: mind-boggling developments in robotics, nanotechnology, and biotechnology could enable us to build habitable cities on Mars; nearby stars might be reached by microscopic spaceships sailing through space on laser beams; and technology might one day allow us to transcend our physical bodies entirely.
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| The Road to Sleeping Dragon: Learning China from the Ground Up by Michael MeyerAs one of China's first Peace Corps volunteers in 1995, Michael Meyer was there when the country was first opening itself to the west. He taught English in Sichuan to people who'd never seen a white person and who thought Americans were evil. Never really leaving China behind, he eventually falls in love with and marries a Chinese woman. Tracing the vast changes he's seen and sharing amusing anecdotes of what he's learned, Meyer provides a fascinating glimpse at his adopted country. Fans of Peter Hessler will want to check out Meyer's work; this is his third book about China. |
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Travellers Through Empire : Indigenous Voyages from Early Canada
by Cecilia Morgan
Canadian. In the late eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth century, an unprecedented number of Indigenous people – especially Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabeg, and Cree – travelled to Britain and other parts of the world. Who were these transatlantic travellers, where were they going, and what were they hoping to find? Travellers through Empire unearths the stories of Indigenous peoples including Mississauga Methodist missionary and Ojibwa chief Reverend Peter Jones, the Scots-Cherokee officer and interpreter John Norton, Catherine Sutton, a Mississauga woman who advocated for her people with Queen Victoria, E. Pauline Johnson, the Mohawk poet and performer, and many others. Cecilia Morgan retraces their voyages from Ontario and the northwest fur trade and details their efforts overseas. As they travelled, these remarkable individuals forged new families and friendships and left behind newspaper interviews, travelogues, letters, and diaries that provide insights into their cross-cultural encounters.
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| Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World by Noah StryckerNoah Strycker had a big 2015 goal: to travel the globe seeing as many bird species as possible (preferably over 5,000, which would break a world record). His delightful Birding without Borders chronicles his travels to over 40 countries on all seven continents, his encounters with interesting local birders and fellow travelers, how he came to love birds as a child, and the history and future of birding. This accessible book isn't just for the bird-obsessed, but for all fans of detail-rich, enlightening, and amusing journeys. |
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| Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom... by Blaine HardenWith North Korea so much in the news of late, people may wonder what life is like in this closed-off, authoritarian country. You can read the bestselling Escape from Camp 14 for a glimpse. Telling the dramatic story of Shin Dong-hyuk, who was born in one of North Korea's infamous political prisons and is one of the very few people to have escaped, the book describes brutal conditions, where affection is virtually nonexistent and torture, beatings, and starvation are routine. Follow Shin Dong-hyuk as he makes it to South Korea, China, and the U.S. and deals with culture shock. |
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| Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite by Suki KimThis gripping book reads a bit like a dystopian novel as it vividly depicts life in North Korea. Suki Kim, an award-winning author who was born in South Korea but has lived in the United States since she was a teen, took a job teaching English to the sons of North Korea's ruling class during what turned out to be the last six months of Kim Jong Il's reign. She watched every word she said, kept notes on a secret flash drive, and tried to connect with her students, young men who believed all the propaganda they'd been served and had little idea of what the rest of the world is like. Kim's well-written, thought-provoking examination of this closed-off land offers a rare look at the elite of the country. |
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| The Girl With Seven Names: Escape from North Korea by Hyeonseo Lee with David JohnBorn in North Korea near the border with China, Hyeonseo Lee had a relatively happy childhood (her family had enough money for food and some extras), but things changed when her father died. When she first secretly crossed the border at 17, she planned to return to her family -- however, when that proved impossible, she lived in China for years, taking new names for safety reasons, before finally making it to South Korea at 28. Later, she helped her family escape...but they faced many barriers. The presenter of a popular TED talk, Lee offers extraordinary insight into both North Korea and China in her compelling book. |
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